AlvaBaby Review - Real Nappy Week day 5
Updated: Nov 30
It is Real Nappy Week! During this week, many brands dedicate this whole week to celebrate cloth diapers and promote their benefits to make them more accessible among new moms. Till this day cloth diapers is still looked down upon and considered something dirty and time consuming to do and I want to help remove the stigma from it.
As I have been cloth diapering for some time now, it seems like a good idea to share my experience with different brands of cloth diapers. Over the past several years, I have tried many different types and brands, not all successful, which I want to share with you. Today I will be reviewing Alva.
Other brands that have been reviewed during this week are Rumparooz, Buttons, Grovia and Nora’s Nursery.
Background
AlvaBaby is a Chinese company that started in 2006 and has since grown to become one of the largest washable diaper products in the world. Alva is satisfied with several awards for excellent product quality and their good services to customers. One of Alva's core values is therefore to produce washable diapers even for a smaller budget.
Production
AlvaBaby's production line is very short. This is because the whole process is in their factory in Huizhou China. Within this factory, the various production processes are separated from each other. There are areas for cutting fabrics, there is a room where all the sewing is done and a little further on, the snaps are attached to the cloth diapers. Because everything is so close together, they can produce quickly and the costs of the production process are kept very low. All this not only ensures a fast product, also the quality of their products, can be monitored closely.
Types of Cloth Diapers
Alvababy offers many different types of cloth diapers in addition to other baby-related products.
Fitted Diaper
The fitted diapers are one size diapers, which means that they can be made to size with the snaps on the front. The diaper has 4 rows of snaps on the front, which means 4 different sizes in which this cloth diaper can be adjusted. This way, the diapers are suitable from about 3.5 kg to 15 kg. For a newborn, the diapers are often rather bulky, but from about 2 to 3 months these diapers fit perfectly.
AlvaBaby's fitted nappies are made from a bamboo polyester blend. This mix ensures that moisture can be absorbed very quickly, which is very nice if your child starts peeing more at once. The mix of fabrics also ensures that this cloth diaper dries faster compared to diapers made from bamboo or a bamboo cotton blend.
The diaper has extra ruffles along the edges of the legs that help keep poop explosions within the diaper.
Covers
AlvaBaby's covers are made of PUL and come in various colorful prints. They can be adjusted with snaps at the front and fit over AlvaBaby's fitted diapers as well as other brands such as Thirsties, Totsbots and Rumparooz.
Pocket Diapers
The pocket is what AlvaBaby is known for. They have literally hundreds (yes really) of different prints so that something nice can be found for everyone's taste. If you think a nice print of the diapers is important, it is definitely worth taking a look at this brand.
The pockets also have several rows of snaps so that they can be made to size. They are suitable for babies from 3 kg to about 15 kg. They are made of PUL with a nice print that is waterproof but breathable.
The inside is a layer of fleece. This does not retain moisture but lets everything through. This gives a dry feeling to the baby's buttocks, which can reduce rashes on their skin.
AlvaBaby's pocket diapers all have double gussets. These double elastics along the legs ensure that poop explosions remain within the diapers as much as possible.
Inserts
AlvaBaby has different inserts for their cloth diapers.
Microfiber inserts absorb quickly but not a lot of moisture. The bamboo inserts absorb more moisture than microfiber, but do so more slowly. Hemp retains even more moisture compared to bamboo but absorbs even slower. The more layers the insert has, the more moisture it can hold.
They also have bamboo charcoal inserts. This is a highly processed form of bamboo, that can absorb more quickly than regular bamboo inserts and retain more moisture compared to microfiber.
Swim diapers
AlvaBaby's swim diapers last the entire nappy period. Thanks to the snaps on the front you can make adjust their size so they are suitable for up to about 2 years.
Note: A swim diaper (both reusable and disposable) is not made to absorb bodily waste. They are made to ensure that it does not end up in the swimming water.
Price Range
Fitted diapers: $7 -$14
Covers: $4 -$10
Inserts: $5 -$8
Inserts: $2 -$6
Swimming diaper: $4 -$10
Alva Baby is one of my favorite pocket diapers during the day. When you are considering cloth diapers I would recommend buying several systems and brands to find out what you like and what fits your baby and an Alva Baby pocket diaper is definitely you should give a try.
